When it comes to shaping opinions about agriculture and ag-products, so-called mommy bloggers are holding more power than ever before. But it's a two way street. Some bloggers say they want better communication between them and ag-businesses.
An e-market study says there are an estimated four million mommy bloggers, and over 90 million readers, mostly fellow moms. Some write about the food they feed their families, sharing concerns over such issues as growth hormones and genetically modified foods.
Social media expert Roxi Beck says sometimes bloggers put out misinformation. But not on purpose. She says it can be a matter of the writer not having enough information.
"This gets down to they either don't have the resource to go to, whether from an expert standpoint, or they haven't done, they don't have the time to find the research," Beck said.
Vanessa Druckman has taken extra steps to learn more from farmers. She's a Chicago-based blogger who writes about food including her favorite recipes. She says around 7,000 read her on a regular basis. Druckman says the ag industry shouldn't fear social media. She says there just needs to be better communication between farmers and bloggers so everybody has their facts straight.
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"I think more good can be done by sharing information instead of shielding things in worrying that moms won't understand what you do with antibiotics and what do we mean by hormones and what's the difference what's natural, what's unnatural," she said. "Give mom's credit."
It turns out at least some in the ag industry are listening. Farmers will get a chance to ask Mommy bloggers questions, including Vanessa Druckman, at the upcoming Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin conference in Madison.
